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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141868">Rock Bottom</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/XWings_and_History/pseuds/XWings_and_History'>XWings_and_History</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:16:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>689</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/XWings_and_History/pseuds/XWings_and_History</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff"><p>We somehow made it through three sequel films without Anakin ever telling his grandkid to stop being such a little shit. Had to explain that somehow.</p></div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Rogue Podron Made Us Do It</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rock Bottom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Rock Bottom</strong>
</p><p>            Consciousness returned slowly to Ben Solo. Even in his fuzzy, half-aware state, he knew better than to dismiss the horrors that haunted the corners of his mind as mere dreams. He had lived them far too long for it all to have been that easy.</p><p>            Still, as the world swam back into focus, Ben was shocked to feel… nothing. When Sidious had hurled him into this pit, the Force been roiling like a stormy sea. Now, the silence above him, both literal and in the Force, was deafening.</p><p>            Ben Solo had lived his whole life like he had a special destiny. It had marked him from an early age, and he had used it to justify his worst actions. And yet, when this century-long duel of the fates finally concluded, he had been asleep. Unarmed. At the bottom of a hole in the ground.</p><p>            “Trust me, kid. I know a little something about complex destinies.” The warmth of the voice filled Ben, and caused him to finally lift his aching head off dark, sandy ground. The pit was filled with a soft blue light, centered on the puckishly good-looking figure of his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker.</p><p>            Ben gasped. “You…”</p><p>            Anakin smiled. “…’ve been missing all this time? Yeah, sorry about that. Hard to explain, but he found some way to block me – all of us – from talking to you. I’ve been trying to scream at you for the last 10 years to stop…” he gestured vaguely.</p><p>            Ben coughed. “Yeah. I…it all made sense at the time, you know? No thought, just feeling, until – “</p><p>            “Until it was too late,” Anakin finished. “Trust me kid, I get it. And that moment you’re in now, of seeing your mistakes and realizing what a horrible, wasteful mess you’ve made? I’ve been there for longer than I actually was alive.”</p><p>            Ben drew a long, ragged breath. His ribs were broken; maybe more. He was beaten, but he would live. He thought of other Jedi from the past. Perhaps he would exile himself, like Luke or Ulic Qel-Droma had. Maybe he would walk the galaxy, doing what good he could to atone for the horrors Kylo Ren had inflicted on the galaxy. Still, neither of those felt quiet right.</p><p>            Ben reached out through the Force, seeking Rey to give some manner of farewell. Easier to slip away now, without ever facing her. Yet when he did... Ben gasped again. Rey was <em>gone.</em> There was a faint of echo of her at the foot of the Sith throne, but otherwise she was like a vanishing spark, the memory of someone kind and brave and <em>good.</em></p><p>            Anakin spoke again, the mirth in his voice replaced with solemnity. “She fought like a warrior. We aided her; made sure Sidious had nowhere to go but inward and away from her. But it took all she had.”</p><p>            Ben’s eyes darted upward. He could climb, could do <em>something</em>. But he didn’t know what.</p><p>            Anakin touched a spectral hand to Ben’s shoulder. “You know my story. You know how I justified my fall with a desire to save your grandmother from death. You know that any future you imagined with her is gone.”</p><p>            <em>With her…</em> Ben’s jaw set. Anakin’s downfall had been selfishness. That had been Ben’s problem, too – first for destiny, then for power, and finally for justification for his choices. But Rey had shown him a different way. As the waves had crashed around the ruins of the Death Star, she had shown him selflessness. Sacrifice.</p><p>Ben felt the Force flow through him, washing away the pain of broken bones and battered flesh. His purpose, for the first time in his life, was clear. Anakin had tried to save Padmé, and failed. Luke had saved his father’s soul, but Anakin had died in the process. Ben would give Rey, body and soul, back to the galaxy. She would have a lifetime of doing good, restoring the light back to those most in need. Nothing in his life had ever felt more obvious.</p><p>As Ben climbed, he could feel the warm glow of Anakin’s fading ghost smiling behind him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We somehow made it through three sequel films without Anakin ever telling his grandkid to stop being such a little shit. Had to explain that somehow.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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